Kite balloon



Oct. 9, 1928. 1,686,646

R. H. UPSON KITE BALLOON Filed July s', 1926 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIE'I FIEI L INVENTOR FF'LPH H. L/PEUN m A TTORNEY Oct. 9, 1928. 1,686,646

. R. H. uPsoN KITE BALLOON "Filed July 5, 1926 Sheets-Sheet 2 F I E. III.

l INVENTOR a FF'HLPH HUPSDN 5 /2 BY 8 *ATTORNEY KITE BALLOON Filed July 5, 1926 FIGJKZ- 4 Sheets-Sheet, 3

IN VEN TOR EFILPH H. UFSUIV- 1 ATTORNEY Oct. 9, 1928. 1,686,646

R. H. UPSON KITE BALLOON Filed July 1926 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 F'IBYIE- IN VENTOR RHLPH H. UFEUN W ATTORNEY Patented 0st. 9, 1928.

UNITED TA E P ENT OF RALPH xL-nPsoN, or DETROIT, MICHIGAN.) I

KITE" BALLOON.

Application filed 51115 s, 1926. Serial no. 120,565.. I

This invention relates to balloons of the type known as kite balloons and has'for its object the provision of means on such a kite I balloon that will better assure steadiness or stability when in the air, and particularly under the varyirconditions of wind when launching or hauling downand land ing the kite balloon.

Among the particular objects are the pro vision of fins on such'lnte balloon of-aspecial form and arranged and cooperating with the rest of the balloon in the manner hereinafter more fully described.

A particular embodiment of my invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which: s i

Fig. I is a perspective view'of a kite balloon containing the inventions in a particular form. I

Fig. I is a fragmentary section on an en larged scale of one form of air scoop for Fi VII is a fragmentary'view of part of v the balloon body and through the medial plane of a fin.

'Fig'. VIII is a cross-section on enlarged scale, on the line 88, Fig, VII.

V This embodiment of my invention has a kite balloon body 1 which is usually a fabric bag adapted to be inflated with buoyant gas,

and having in'its forward end a relief valve 2 which will automatically relieve any excess pressure beyond a' predetermined amount. On the interior. is a ballonet diaphragm 3 fastened along the sides below the middle and of St phrap.

fiated by gas and having direct connection with the gas in the main body portion. v s

The finsin the preferred form, consist of fins {l -l conical or multi-conical in shape,

plus material pern'iitting the dia 7 n to swell due to airpressure on the underside, and thereby transmitpressure to-i the gas above the diaphragm forcing tlie gas pressure to distcnd the balloon body proper, andalso to distend the fins adapted tobe in-' withan axis projecting radially from the sur face the'body 1 and each comprising a plurality of generally cone-shape sections 4;,

each with its large base secured to the surface of the balloon proper and each oflthe sections 4? being separated by-diaphragm's 5-5 peppered with holes 5 so that gas may move fro n each ofthe cone shapecompartinents into the adjacent ones, and keep all of the fins substantially uniformly inflated from the base where it connects with the body of the balloon to the ends of the' fin. Where the fin joins the bag 1 the envelope of the'bag is perforated or peppered with holes 6 so as 'to' allow acce'ss of the gasfrom the bag into the fin and through the-entire extent of-the fin from the bag-envelope to the-tip of the fin. It will thusbe seenthat the gas presthroughout the fin, and thereby u'pon inflation of the kite balloon these fins are also inflated and stiffened and form effective stabilizing .ior steadying protuberances throughout their length to their tip, avoidingany chance of these fins becoming flabby irrespective OffWiIiCl conditions, and thus as-I suring the'irhelfectivenes's' when launching,

as'fwell asl'anding or maintaining the kite balloon in the air.

The particular form of the fins is obtained by making thefin envelopesubstantially as shown in Figs'VII and VIII, wherein the several parts or sections are substantially conical with a wide base at the bag surface and converge to a common apex 7 but with a substantial portion'ofthe apex cut off to form the-outer edge of, the fin substantially sure in the main envelope is also maintained parallel with the axis of the balloon and of I I an appreciableextentfso that the outer edge may be formed into a scoop 8, in the case'of I other fins 9-9 whichare inflated by air, as

hereinafter described. This 'fin'fabric is fashioned to give the forn -illustrated, and.

therefore an envelopewith fairly flat surfaces longitudinally of the balloon, is restrained by the partitions 55 holding the opposite walls together so that upon the i11 flation of the severalcompartment's the fin in its distended conditionapproximates a plu-v rality of conicalsurfaces,that is agenerally flat-sided conical form;

set at forty-five degrees abo e horizon 1, thelvi'provide. in a p ve 0r ite bal o i l' while the fins l4l-'inflated with' gasfareL which is slightly inclined with its axis pointing slightly upward, a form that gives lift by resistance to the wind, and thereby materially helps in stabilizing, which would not be the case if these fins were in a normally Vertical position. By having the fins 99' each forty-five degrees below the horizontal, a similar result is obtained, so that four of such fins extending from the rear half of the kite balloon, add greatly to the steadiness or stability and materially prevent pitching.

In the caseofthe lower two fins 99, the scoop 8 has a duct 8 separated from each of the sections of the fin by diaphragms 10-10, which are perforated or peppered with holes in a manner that will admit the air fairly uniformly into each of the sections, While the peppered partitions 5+5 furthermore assure the maintenance of like pressure throughout the sections of the fin. From the base of these air inflated fins" a vent II througl'i the bag-envelope permits flow into the ballonet air space,-that is below or underneath the diaphragm 3. At the same time the ballonet has its pressure maintained by air flowing into the forward scoop 12 which is always in an unobstructed position to re sist the wind, so that with the increase of wind requiring the stiffening of, the fins to best function, such increased inflation is caused bythe-increased pressure; of the wind. I may also add a scoop near the base of each air-inflated fin as shown dotted at 13, Fig. I, and in enlarged scale in Fig. I where the scoop is secured to the outer surface of the balloon-bag proper and extends to the base of the conicalfront edge section of fin 9 with a suitable perforated wall admitting air, and a flap 15 so formed that internal pressure presses a valve flap against the perforations thereby preventing air from flowing out.

As in these kite balloons changes of temperature or operation may result in certain altitudes in an expansion, or, in any event, an excess pressure in the gas bags, I provide the blow-ofi' or relief valve 2 consisting of valve disc 2? held normal by spring 2 to a yoke 2 However,I locate this blow-off valve well forward, and preferably just under the nose of the balloon body so that the outward-opening type shown is subject to the internal pressure but also to tliewindpressure, and thereby the harder the wind against the outside the higher will be the internalblow-oft pres-.

.sure, thus'with high winds still better insuring the stiffness of the balloon envelope and in particular also the stiffness of the fins. s

It will be seen that the forty-five degrees position of the air-inflated fins makes it pos-" efl'ect of'air currents is assured.

the small scoops at the tip of the fins assure the inflation of the fins while the flap 8" prevents the air from flowing out again, and it must force its way against the diaphragm I) into the ballonet, when the diaphragm acts as a valve, and also thus in creasing the pressure in the ballonet, but inthe main and large scoop '12 there'is no check-valve, so that ballonet pressure is autoniatically balanced in'proportion to the wind on the area of the niainscoop crosssection.

The advantages of the form of fins and arrangement will be realized in view of the greater stability and better balance which they give to the kite balloon, under which conditions the observation car 16 can be relatively close-coupled to the supporting balloon body and close to the mooring and communication cable. There is more aerodynamic lift and the various forces are so distributed that the balloon tends to keep an almost constant position in the air for a wide range of wind speeds. The importance of this is obvious, particularl when considering one of the prime uses, namely, for artillery observation. This arrangement of the lower fins assures their keepingtheirair under normal conditions for an appreciable length of time even if the windshould momentarily die out, which is a condition that is practically obtained in naval m'anoeuvers where the balloon is being towed alternately with and against the wind.v The gas valve arrangement, furthermore, permits a reasonably low blow-off pressure and a high factor of safety for normal conditions, but at the same time it prevents disastrous cupping of the nose and the loss of gas under the effect of unusually strong winds or iii the case of gusts, which are conditions that are always likely to occur. By the arrangement for inflation of the fins, their stiffness is maintained with the advantage of the fin tip scoops in a position of free-flowing air, and when desired having the fin base air. supply from scoops well located when full These conditions with the generally flattened shape of the fin and their position generally in planes forty-five degrees from the horizontal and vertical, provide the very advantageous steadying or stabilizing to resist yawing or pitching of the balloon, and thereby an almost constant position to the great advantage of the operations of the observers carried by the balloon.

The main gas bag is made, of the usual 7 conditions I may inflate all of the four fins; with gas, and for other purposes I'may use air inflation for the upper fins with the same advantages due to the form andthe arrangement of tip scoop and valve and con-- nectlons with the ballonet, as 'herembefore described with reference to the lower fins,

' air-inflated, as illustrated and described, with such changes as necessary to connect the air space in the upper fins with the ballonet or I with the lower tins as by air pipes.

In the preferred form the main gas bag is elongated with a substantially circular cross section,with a fineness of about two and a half to three times the length to the maximum diameter, with a rounded nose and converging from the maximum diameter forward of the middle to the rounded stern and the fins are as shown placed along meridian lines of the main bag surface back of the middle but not extending to the rear. The flattened conical shape of the fins is preferably as shown, a plurality of connected conical surfaces produced by the diaphragms extending outwardly from the base and converging toward the tip which restrain the lateral walls so that the inflation sired form of longitudinally flattened outward scolloped orfiuted surfaces, with a relatively large base and tapered to a fairly thin edge giving the very advantageous form that assures stiffness and maintains its predetermined position with relation to the balloon body surface.

Many variations may be made from the particular embodiments of my invention herein,

. and with walls held in shape by direct inter-" velopes with the larger end or base secured to particularly illustratedand described, without departing from my -invention,-but what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1s:

1. A kite balloon having a main elongated body portion inflatedwith buoyant gas, a ballonet and a main air scoop therefor, a plurality of inflatable fins maintained radially from the balloon surface in a wedge shape with their bases attached to the main body,

nal pressure extending wedge-shaped to the fin ti 2. each consisting of generally wedge shaped enthe balloon envelope and with the wedge shaped walls converging radially outward toward a common apex with means providing direct internal pressure-against the inner surface of the walls to counteract aerodynamic gated gas container and a plurality of in? flated fins of a flattened conical shape attached outside pressure on said fins. I

3. A kite balloon fin having agenerally flattened c'onlcal form of envelope extendlng ra- P V A kite balloon having a plurality of fins dially from the kite balloon main gas enve- A lope and radial part-itions'holding said enve lope to 'saidconical form. in conjunction with:

internal pressure.

4'. A 'kite balloon havingtwo wedge formed fin envelopes extending radially outwardfrom.

the main balloon body and having ra'dialin ternal wall interconnections and a free vent at their base for flow .of the buoyant gas ofv the main body.

5. A kite balloon having two wedge inflatable fins extending trom'belovv the mid-'1 dle radially outward from the main balloon body, and having means for maintaining air pressure 1' a'gainst1the- =inner surface of the outer walls of the finsto stifily inflate them.

6. Ina kite balloon having a g as-bagand ballonet, an inflatable fin with walls extending straight radially from the bag-envelope, in-

flatable uniformly from its base connect-ion to its tip, and having near its tip an air scoop and a check-valve therefor and at its base an air connect-ion to the ballonet.

e 7. In a kiteballoon an inflatable fin having a generallyflattenedrcone shape with its base secured to the main gas bag and outwardly converging with compartments extending from the base to the tip, radial partitions interconnecting the flattened sides and intercommunication between all parts providing envelopes adapted to be inflated to form stifl' fins, and unchecked air-scoops for the ballonet and fins. e i

9. A kite balloon having an elongated gas envelope of substantially circular cross-section, arplurality of fins extending radially from the envelope back of the middle, an out- 8. In a kite balloon having a main body for gas inflation, a ballonet, a. blow-ofi valve in close proximity to the nose of the main body,

. a free-flow of gas or air from the base to the I of each compartment or section takes the deti I degrees from the horizontal and vertical planes throughthe axis of the gas bag.

11. A kite balloon having an elongated gas bag, a ballonet along part of the bottom, two gas inflated fins extendingv radially about forty-five degrees above the horizontal plane of the axis of the balloon, and two radial fins adapted for air ,7 inflation extending generally III a plane about forty-five'degrees below the horizontal from the rear half portion of the gas bag.

12. 'A k'te balloon comprising a main elonf ternal radial means to restrict the lat'eralfin surfaces. to predetermined size when nflated, and;means.for maintaining the inflation of the fins. V 13: In a. kite balloon of thecharacter descnib'ed 'plurality of air-inflatable fins each smaller section stifieningg diaphragms in. each fincxtending from the base outwardly and restricting the sides of the: envelope when inflatedto the predetermined flattened shape,

- and intenior'ain vent-s to permit substantially uniform air pressure: throughout the .fin. 14. A kite balloon of vthe character describecLhavinga-plurality of independent fins formed of an inflatable envelope vwith longir.

tudinally flattened sides held to form by internal wall connect-ions an ain scoop-and an,

inwardly-opening check valve near the. tip of each hn, an air scoop, on the outer s de of the main gas envelope and leading to an inwardly opening check valve atthe'base of each fin where it. meets the ma n gas envelope, and an unchecked vent from the base of the fin to the ballonet in proximity-t0 the connection of the ballonet diaphragm with the interior of the main gas bag. I

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to-this application this 22 day of May 1926. RALPH H. UPSON. 

